Oglebay: New Good Zoo Train Opens Up Opportunities
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WHEELING -- Oglebay Park Good Zoo Director Joe Greathouse has fond memories of riding the train around the zoo, as so many who live and have lived in the Ohio Valley do. It's a part of his childhood as it is for countless others.
Yet a bevy of reasons - age, cost and availability of parts among them - has the zoo moving to a new trackless train that Greathouse hopes will be in place no later than Memorial Day. It's a more economical move, he said, that also opens the door for opportunities unavailable with the old trains.
The current trains on the track at the Good Zoo are 1977 Chance C.P. Huntington trains. They turn 45 years old in 2022 and repairing them when they break down gets tougher and tougher each year.
"They don't carry parts anymore at the manufacturer, at Chance Railroads," Greathouse said. "When we have to find parts for it, we're working through eBay, trying to find parts from old tractors to try to get the engine running."
Manufacturing a new engine for the current trains won't work, Greathouse said, because the frame is a different size and wouldn't fit.
Finding parts can be a crapshoot, as the zoo doesn't know the quality of the parts it ordered until they get there.
Buying new trains for the current track would be a seven-figure investment, Greathouse said. The zoo would have to buy two trains at $1 million each and put another $500,000 into track improvements.
"That's just to get us to where we were a couple of years ago," he said, "not making an improvement. We net about $60,000 a year on the train, so we'd be looking at about 40 years just to pay it off."
If the zoo bought just one train at $1 million, that and the cost for track improvements would be double the entire zoo's operational expenses for a year, Greathouse said. And the Good Zoo is one of about a dozen of the 200 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that is self-sustaining. It gets no tax revenue from the community.
So the zoo has decided to switch to a Gopo trackless train. The diesel-powered vehicle will cost $180,000, Greathouse said, but the benefits stretch beyond the price tag. The train seats 84 passengers, as opposed to the 68 that the old trains seat. The new train also is about 18 inches wider, which makes it more comfortable for more passengers.
And without being beholden to a track, the train can traverse all the paved pathways at the zoo. Greathouse said the suggestions he hears on ways to improve often center around having more animals along the train's path.
"The guests are essentially going to see every animal in the zoo from the train and a little bonus area they typically wouldn't have seen just walking the trails," he said.
The train also would be able to remain operational in colder months, like during the Festival of Lights. The old trains have air brakes, Greathouse said, and colder temperatures can lead to condensation getting into the brakes, which is a safety hazard.
"If we can add a train ride around the zoo so you can see some animals and Christmas lights and theme it as a Christmas ride for kids, it gives another opportunity for the zoo and for families to visit and do something special to create new traditions."
On top of Christmas rides, the zoo also is considering more exclusive after-hours tours, where guests can ride through the zoo on the train and meet with some of the zookeepers. The new train also will offer the opportunity to offer narrations while passengers are onboard, Greathouse said. That hasn't happened on the old trains for about 15 years, as the speakers are no longer functional.
The Good Zoo knows that people will miss the Huntington trains and that piece of their childhoods. Greathouse said this new train will help offer a clear, smooth path to the zoo's future.
"Folks that are open-minded about it, I think they'll appreciate it," Greathouse said.